Boys Basketball wins. Nuggets 81, Barnesville Trojans 73.

When HOL rival Barnesville comes to town, you know it’s going to be a battle royale on the field or on the court and Tuesday night was just that with a near full capacity crowd to witness. The Nuggets secured a quick two to start the game and led for most of the half, but Barnesville had shooters connecting all around the hoop, closing in to tie 19-19 at 10:32. The Nuggets pulled away with some nice team play on both ends of the court, leading by as much as 9. But the Nuggets’ 11-5 foul disadvantage sent the Trojans to the line, closing the gap to 41:34 before a buzzer-beating 3 from down town sent the boys to the locker room with a 44:36 advantage.

Barnesville’s Matt Holland must have had a fire lit at half as he came out and scored eight unanswered points before Hawley could recover and rally for a few of their own and increase their lead to 11 with a 3 by Leaf at the 12 minute mark. Despite a few players in foul trouble, Hawley continued their intense trap defense spurred on by an enthusiastic student section. But Barnesville found openings and narrowed the lead to six with seven minutes to play. At times it looked as though a football rematch was taking place with bodies colliding and chasing loose balls. The Nuggets increased their advantage to 13 at the 3:30 mark with a nice three by Regnier. Barnesville’s Strand then got the hot hand and brought Barnesville back within 9 with 2:30 remaining. Barnesville tried to send Hawley to the line with suffocating defense as Hawley appeared to pull into a stall. Two at the line by Pekas put the boys put up by 12 once more with 1:00 left to play. A near half-court three by Strand brought Barnesville within 9 with 19 seconds remaining. Nuggets sealed the win despite shooting poorly at the line and a last 2 point bucket by Strand. Nuggets win 81-73.